_Ephraim feedeth on wind_ Flatters himself with vain, delusive hopes, of receiving effectual support from the alliances which he forms. It is a proverbial expression to signify labour in vain, or pursuing such measures as will bring damage rather than benefit. _And followeth the east wind_ Perniciou... [ Continue Reading ]
_He took his brother by the heel in the womb_ From the mentioning of Jacob in the foregoing verse, the prophet takes occasion to put his posterity in mind of the particular favours God had bestowed upon him; partly with a view to encourage them to imitate him in endeavouring to obtain the like bless... [ Continue Reading ]
_He had power over the angel_ Called God, Hosea 12:3, and Jehovah, God of hosts, Hosea 12:5, namely, God by nature and essence, and an angel by office and voluntary undertaking. _He wept and made supplication unto him_ He prayed with tears from a sense of his own unworthiness, and with earnestness f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore turn thou to thy God_ “Thou therefore, O Israel, encouraged by the memory of God's love to thy progenitor, and by the example which thou hast in him, of the efficacy of weeping and supplication, turn to thy God in penitence and prayer, and in the [practice of] works of righteousness.” Hor... [ Continue Reading ]
_He is a merchant_, &c. Bishop Horsley renders this verse thus: _Canaan the trafficker! The cheating balances in his hand! He has set his heart upon over-reaching!_ On which the bishop observes, “God says to the prophet, Instead of turning to me, and keeping to works of charity and justice, he is a... [ Continue Reading ]
_I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt_ From the time I brought thee out of it: _will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles_ That is, in thy habitations, quietly and joyfully, as in festival times. The word _tabernacles_ is here put for _houses_, or habitations; because at first the Isra... [ Continue Reading ]
_Is there iniquity in Gilead?_ Or, _Was there idolatry in Gilead?_ as the word און often signifies. _Surely they are vanity, &c., in Gilgal_ The tribes settled about Gilead beyond Jordan, were already captivated by Tiglath-pileser. And God declares here by the prophet, that the idolatry still practi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ephraim provoked him to anger_, &c. Notwithstanding all God's favours showed to these people and their ancestors, they provoked him by their idolatries and other sins in a most outrageous manner. The word תמורים, translated, _most bitterly_, some render, _with his bitterness;_ that is, by his wicke... [ Continue Reading ]